RIM: Strong Scandium Recoveries at Murga
Original announcement by asx on
- Company
- Rimfire Pacific Mining Limited
- Ticker
- RIM
- Exchange
- ASX
- Region
- New South Wales, Australia
- Primary commodity
- Scandium
- Secondary commodities
- None reported
- Document categories
- Metallurgy
- Extracted
- 2026-10-07 23:19:26 UTC
Analysis by Minestarters Atlas
Atlas analysis published:
Minestarters Atlas analysis
Summary
Rimfire Pacific Mining has reported positive 15-week scandium recovery trends from Stage 2 bottle roll leaching tests at the Murga project. Projections indicate long-term recoveries could reach 60% for saprolite and 30% for laterite, supporting a lower-capital atmospheric leaching processing route.
Reasoning: The announcement reports encouraging long-term recovery trends from Stage 2 bottle roll tests, supporting a lower-CAPEX atmospheric leaching pathway for the Murga project.
Positive factors
- Strong trend projections for long-term recoveries (60% saprolite, 30% laterite)
- Low acid consumption (0.34t/t saprolite, 0.23t/t laterite) supports lower-capital atmospheric leaching
- High Scandium:Iron ratio (2.24 mg/g) suggests easier downstream separation
- Supports a potentially simpler, lower-capital processing route compared to HPAL
Negative factors
- Current 15-week recoveries are relatively low (22.7% saprolite, 15.2% laterite)
- Laterite recoveries are lower than saprolite, potentially due to acid-consuming species (Ca, Mn, Mg)
Facts used in scoring: 2
Classification and evidence
Mill Routeneutral
Processing via mill or concentrator (CIL, CIP, tank leach, flotation).
Why it applies: The study evaluates atmospheric leaching (tank/bottle roll) which is a mill-based hydrometallurgical route.
Evidence · text
“atmospheric leaching technologies”
Heap Leach Routeneutral
Processing via heap leach — lower CAPEX and OPEX, lower recovery expected.
Why it applies: the document describes a heap_leach route ("heap leach")
Multi-Domain Testedpositive
Variability across ore domains (oxide, transition, fresh) has been addressed.
Why it applies: 2 distinct composites were tested
Extracted facts
Stored fact records: 2. Some facts used in scoring do not have a stored record.
Metallurgical Results (2)
bottle rollMurga Scandium Deposit · scandiumRecovery: 22.7 %View all detailsHide details
Identity
- Project
- Murga Scandium Deposit
- Commodity
- scandium
- Region
- australia_nsw
- Reported Region
- New South Wales, Australia
- Ticker
- RIM
Test Work
- Program Status
- preliminary
- Test Type
- bottle roll
- Processing Route
- atmospheric leaching
- Sample
- 0.74 kg sample of saprolite-hosted low iron scandium mineralised material (composite HQ quarter core from FI2679)
Recovery
- Recovery
- 22.7 %
- Recovery Basis
- actual_test
Reagents
- Acid
- 340 kg/t
Lab
- Laboratory
- Simulus Pty Ltd
- Consultant
- Mr. Boyd Willis
Review
- Needs Review
- No
- Historical
- No
Dates
- Event date
- 2026-10-07T00:00:00.000Z
Reasoning: 15-week recovery of 22.7% is a mid-point in a continuing test, but low acid consumption and high Sc:Fe ratio are positive indicators for atmospheric leaching.
Positive factors
- Low acid consumption
- High Sc:Fe ratio
Evidence · text
“scandium recoveries of 22.7% (saprolite sample) and 15.2% (laterite sample) had been achieved”
bottle rollMurga Scandium Deposit · scandiumRecovery: 15.2 %View all detailsHide details
Identity
- Project
- Murga Scandium Deposit
- Commodity
- scandium
- Region
- australia_nsw
- Reported Region
- New South Wales, Australia
- Ticker
- RIM
Test Work
- Program Status
- preliminary
- Test Type
- bottle roll
- Processing Route
- atmospheric leaching
- Sample
- 1kg sample of laterite-hosted low iron scandium mineralised material (composite HQ quarter core from FI2679)
Recovery
- Recovery
- 15.2 %
- Recovery Basis
- actual_test
Reagents
- Acid
- 230 kg/t
Lab
- Laboratory
- Simulus Pty Ltd
- Consultant
- Mr. Boyd Willis
Review
- Needs Review
- No
- Historical
- No
Dates
- Event date
- 2026-10-07T00:00:00.000Z
Reasoning: Recovery is lower than saprolite, likely due to acid-consuming minerals, but acid consumption remains low.
Positive factors
- Low acid consumption
Negative factors
- Lower recovery compared to saprolite
Evidence · text
“scandium recoveries of 22.7% (saprolite sample) and 15.2% (laterite sample) had been achieved”
How Atlas produces this analysis
Minestarters Atlas uses automated extraction to summarize mining announcements, identify reported measurements, and classify supporting evidence. Sentiment reflects the extracted narrative and classification rules; it is an interpretation, not a reported measurement. Evidence quotes and context are provided where available. Missing data, low-confidence results, and review flags indicate limitations. Check the original publisher announcement before relying on an interpretation.